Education work and family formation in early adulthood
Richards, J.M.Jr; Gottfredson, D.C.
Population and Environment 6(4): 241-254
1983
ISSN/ISBN: 0199-0039 DOI: 10.1007/bf01363889Document Number: 402760
A multivariate analysis examined relationships among education, work, and family formation using data from the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972. A consensus has emerged among behavioral scientists that these 3 variables affect each other mutually but until recently methodological limitations have made it difficult to study these mutual effects. These difficulties were dealt with by using LISREL procedures. The most important findings are that, among women, both working and pursuing higher education exert substantial negative influences on marrying and becoming a parent. These influences are substantially stronger than influences in the opposite direction. Thus for women, delaying childbearing is more a consequence of decisions to pursue other activities than it is a cause of such decisions. Among men, pursuing higher education negatively influenced family formation but working did not. The most notable difference between men and women was that forming a family exerted a positive influence on working among men but not among women. Locus of control exerted little influence on any outcome.
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